The Falling Man

06.26.07 | by Jay CcloseAuthor: Jay CName: Jay CSite:About: Jay loves the films of Werner Herzog, Errol Morris and The Maysles, and is currently in production on his own first feature-length documentary Beauty Day.

Here’s something I heard about a while back that really piqued my interest. ‘The Falling Man’ is a documentary directed by Henry Singer and produced for Britain’s Channel 4. It actually premiered on Canada’s CBC in September of last year, but unfortunately I missed the broadcast. Luckily, the other day I was searching around Google Video and noticed the film posted in full! ANYWAYS, here’s what it’s about:

September 11 2001 was a day that forever changed America. It was a day of many stories: stories of survivors, stories of heroes. But one story simply disappeared. The story of the people who began to fall just minutes after the first plane hit. They were called the jumpers, but soon they were never spoken about again, as if they had never existed. One photograph stood for them all. Anyone who saw it never forgot it. It is one of the most unforgettable images from 9/11: a photograph of a falling man, frozen in mid-air, perfectly parallel with the lines of the World Trade Center. The image ran in newspapers and magazines across the world over the following week, and should have remained one of the defining images of that terrible day. Instead, it was quickly airbrushed out of history. 9/11: The Falling Man follows the trail of that photograph: of the photographer who nearly lost his lifeshooting it; of the citizens who decried it; of the editors who published it and then reluctantly banned it; of the journalists who tried to uncover the falling man’s identity; of the wife and daughters of the identified man and many others. The film asks if this single, harrowing image can help to define our memory of the awful suffering of that day, and help history to give a proper due to the jumpers of 9/11.

So 9/11 documentaries can go either way. Some are horribly cheesy and incredibly tasteless, while others are tasteful and insightful. The Falling Man definitely stands out as an interesting look at one aspect of 9/11 that hasn’t been done to death: how the media handled the situation and how society reacted to their decisions. How bout I just let you check the film out for yourself. Have a look below and leave your comments.

the movie was very moving and brought me closer to the people and the tragedy of 911.
My prayers are with all whom lost someone on that day. This film also reveals how important it is to bring the perpetrators of this act to justice even if it takes a hundred years. The Truth will set us free.

On 09.12.09 john said:

We will never know his name. His presence in that photograph will always remind us that he was forced into a terrible choice by nineteen other men and their evil beliefs. It reminds us that, to remain free, we must try to stop the men of violence who wish the destruction of our nation and our freedom.

I found this a disturbing film , not for the subject matter as such but more for the reaction of the families who seemed to have this insane idea that there might be something unpatriotic or cowardly about jumping. It bordered on insanity and I ended up having no sympathy for the families. In fact I would quite seriously be more frightened of their attitude that that of any terrorist.They even had the flag outside their house !!!

I’m sure that if you were to sit down with these people and try to explain that quite possibly they actually voted for the foreigh policy that made this inevitable they would not be even be capable of understand a word. It was of course a dreadfull thing to happen and an awfull way to die but it didn’t happen for no reason and in an age of univeral suffage just how innocent can someone be if they choose of their own free will to work in the twin towers. God only know how many how many people were murders over the years in the name of US capitalsm gone mad.

On 09.12.09 anna said:

I have always believed that the “jumpers” were very brave, however horrific it may be to see they made an impossible choice but it was THEIR choice.

On 10.02.09 Hero said:

Although some of the people might actually think that the people who jumped out of the burning tower are crazy or insane. Think again… If you are the one in that person’s shoes? what would you think? think of a way to get out of the building even though that it might collapse at any moment? Die of suffocation because of the smoke that is coming from the lower floors? Getting burned to death because of the fire? Or by simply jumping out of the building in the hopes of getting caught by the people below and breathe… for the last time… the clean air? What would you choose? Add to the matter that you are gonna DIE… think about it and check if they are indeed insane…

On 04.10.10 Kip said:

Well Done! My sympathy to all of the families. There is not a single person in this great country that has not been affected by that day.

On 05.12.10 0-Loading-0 said:

Good job, although this video makes my stomach feel strange. I- I don’t know what I would do if I were one of the “jumpers”. It’s quite scary. Either dying of coughing/burning or dying with a quick splat on the Earth’s surface. That terrible, horrible day of 9/11.

On 07.19.10 chekse said:

thankyou for posting this, im doing it in one of my HSC projects and watching the film made me freeze.
I dont think after watching this anyone will ever feel the same about sep 11, personally my respect for the people who had to deal with the consquences has risen above every other.
It has touched hearts from around the world seeing America pick itself up again. Thankyou, peace to all!

I don’t understand why people are unwilling to accept the fact that these people jumped out of the windows of their own free will. I know that if I were in their shoes and my death was inevitable, I would not want to prolong my suffering by burning to death.

Also, I suppose for them how they died was the only thing they could control, it was like they took control of their life in their last moments and there is nothing wrong with that.

I am not justifyin suicide or anything, I am just saying, put yourself in their situation, what would you do? I would consider jumping if I was in their shoes so it would be hypocritical of me tpo judge them- they made their choice so let them be.

This documentary was very moving and emotional. It has given me a different view on 9/11. If you said 9/11 right now, people are most likely going to start talking about whether it was a conspiracy or not; or they will start talking about ‘Muslim Extremists’ and ‘Terrorists’. This documentary was an eye-opener because it gets you to think about the families who suffered and the horror of the people who witnessed it happen.

This documentary still hasn’t changed my view on America, but that is a whole different topic. I still think it is ridiculous the way the people blamed it all on the Muslims and all the hate crimes that happened as a result. “Yeah people, you just recovered from an attack that killed thousands of innocent people, so why don’t you kill more innocent people? It makes perfect sense.”

I’m not hopelessly naive; I know that nobody is perfect and I’m not holding my breath for peace to come anytime soon. I know that people are never satasfied with what they have and always want more. I just wish all the suffering would end….it’s heart-wrenching and some people are so cold and un-feeling. People can dream but that’s all we can do when it comes to peace.

All I have to console myself with is that all those who inflicted pain and misery upon others and those who committed wrong-doings will all eventually pay for their crimes.

sad day, sadder still that even with Generals and Head of State all calling it inside job nothing has been solved.

On 07.02.15 Courtney said:

I’m studying communications at uni and I’m currently doing a documentary oriented unit, and this was one of our required viewings.

I don’t know what I expected, but I think this documentary will definitely be imprinted in my mind forever. I even remember crying at one point, because I had never full imagined what it would be life to be forced to choose death by smoke inhalation or death by jumping off a 100-storey building.

It’s just mind boggling, and I definitely recommend watching this if you want your perspective on life altered just a bit!!